[DAO:8427390] Create personalized AI NPCs to expand Decentland's metaverse ecosystem

Governance
1

by 0x80c0ac9c0ea90b6d464854e478331320e4a3bb32 (banyu)

Should the following $85,000 grant in the In-World Content category be approved?

Abstract

We will add AI NPCs to Decentraland to bring a more interesting experience to the game and provide more diverse elements to the metaverse. They can simulate human behavior and dialogue, generate personalized action plans and conversations, and each NPC is unique and assigned connections. We plan to enable these AI NPCs to affect each other’s relationship values in the final stage, and players can observe or influence the NPCs’ social relationships.

Grant size

85,000 USD

Project duration

6 months

Beneficiary address

0x0FFf31581A95F2926ae656db886229c9B053ee2E

Email address

blockerchain519@gmail.com

Description

With the outbreak of AIGC, our team, as early participants in Decentraland, realized that AI + Decentraland would be very cool. This year, we began to explore how to build intelligent Decentraland elements. Originally, we planned to create browser components embedded in the 3D model of Decentraland, allowing players to search for metaverse strategies without having to leave the current immersive scene. However, during the development process, we found that AI NPCs would be more likely to expand the ecosystem of Decentraland.

Once these NPCs have their own story background and form their own personalities, and even generate relationships between these intelligent NPCs, the scene will be very interesting. We hope that this IDear can be realized in Decentraland.

As Decentraland serves as a carrier for the metaverse, AI NPCs can play various roles in Decentraland and can respond to different situations and player behaviors in different ways, generating personalized dialogues and action plans.

For example:

  • In a tavern, a chatty bartender can be found. When chatting with him, he will constantly talk about what he has done today.
  • In a painting studio, an artist who only knows how to draw circles may become panicked when asked to draw squares. You need to calm the artist down through suitable conversations.

This intelligent game element can bring more interesting experiences to players, thus attracting more users.

At the same time, in order to achieve sustainable application and integrate with other landowners’ fields, we have designed a reasonable development route with phases. Each adorable AI NPC born is actually like Decentraland welcoming a new resident, they have their own birthdate and sign, they have their own favorite food and NPCs, as well as dislikes. The only similarity is that these adorable NPCs always stand firmly on their posts and hope to gain the player’s love after completing their work.

In our plans, AI NPCs can not only be applied in the above-mentioned scenarios, but we will also operate these AI NPCs.

For example:

  • Establish dedicated social media accounts to create a popular internet personality IP, a AI NPC with human fans is also a very interesting scenario.
  • And by organizing some activities around these AI NPCs in Decentraland, it can lengthen the brand effect of Decentraland.

Our work in addition to implementing development, we also have specific marketing plans, after all, marketing is a long-term process. In order to attract attention, we will seek cooperation with KOL and media in the early stage, and let them promote and advertise Decentraland. In the middle stage, it can be adjusted according to the situation, such as promoting through various channels such as social media, email, advertising. In the late stage, it can be more focused on user experience and interaction, by enhancing user loyalty through interactive experiences with AI NPCs.

Roadmap and milestones

Our roadmap is divided into four phases, each with different goals, and our roadmap also contains achievable commercial use cases with a planned period of six months.

  • The first stage belongs to experimental and testing on a single field.
    • The experimental scene of the first field will be designed.
    • AI NPCs will be tested.
    • Marketing will open a media platform.
  • The second stage is a cooperation test with the goal of allowing AI NPCs to appear on other fields and expand the application map.
    • More scenes will be created to welcome more Decentraland residents, and NPCs will be arranged in appropriate scenes.
    • More land owners will be contacted to customize AI residents for them.
    • Marketing will collaborate with KOLs, artists, and media.
  • The third stage will open full-scale operations after completing the first two testing stages, and more players can participate in it.
    • Activities will be held in Decentraland.
    • The participation of media will be another measurable indicator in this stage.
  • The fourth stage will add more logic to AI NPCs and enhance their social abilities.
    • Attempting to have AI residents form their own relationship network actively in Decentraland, without the need for our team to set initial values for these AI residents.
    • A plan is in place to allow users to observe the social status of these AI residents.

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

2

I think this is a great idea, but there are already Ai NPC’s being developed by the team building the Angzaar plaza. I feel like a lot of the code and development has already been created, as they have working models you can go and program and interact with. Maybe there are different/new ways you could program Ai that hasn’t been developed in Decentraland yet?

3

I am delighted to witness the significant developments and technological transitions in the gaming industry. Decentraland, as a blockchain-based metaverse platform, has already introduced numerous innovative elements. Introducing strong AI NPCs (referring to virtual characters with advanced cognitive capabilities capable of accomplishing tasks in complex digital environments) in this fascinating and infinitely possible virtual world will undoubtedly provide users with a better experience. Here are some of the main advantages and benefits that I consider:

  1. Richer interactive experiences: NPCs with strong artificial intelligence can engage in more complex interactions, offering a more diverse range of tasks and activities for players to choose from. Players can have in-depth conversations and interactions with these intelligent NPCs, breaking the limitations between players and NPCs in traditional games.
  2. Closer social connections: Intelligent NPCs can form closer social connections with players by learning their in-game behavior and preferences. In the Decentraland metaverse, players can form friendships with NPCs more naturally, and might even encounter virtual characters that seem “a bit too real.”
  3. Personalized content recommendations: Through conversations and interactions, intelligent NPCs can automatically recommend interesting locations, activities, or merchandise to players. This way, even with the vast resources available in the metaverse, players can still find content that best matches their interests.
  4. Enhancing game inclusiveness and diversity: Strong artificial intelligence enables NPCs to exhibit more varied characteristics and behaviors and demonstrate respect and tolerance for diverse cultures. This will help the Decentraland community become a more inclusive and diverse environment, attracting thousands of gaming enthusiasts.
  5. Supporting player creativity: The metaverse isn’t limited to scenarios and tasks designed by game developers, as it also supports players’ creative ideas. NPCs with strong AI can assist players in creating more attractive and profound content, providing other players with more exciting experiences.
  6. Reshaping the gaming economy: In a blockchain-based metaverse, intelligent NPCs can also participate in economic activities, such as purchasing, selling, and exchanging virtual goods. This will create a more dynamic and ecologically diverse virtual economy for Decentraland.
  7. Further driving technological innovation: Introducing strong AI NPCs in Decentraland will further drive technological innovation. This can not only improve gaming experiences but also bring potential applications to other industries.

In conclusion, introducing NPCs with strong artificial intelligence will undoubtedly bring substantial benefits to Decentraland users and is expected to further drive technological innovations in the metaverse.

4

I think this a great proposal and NPC’s will be really impactful in DCL. Given the above information about Angzaar plaza AI I’d also like to see if you can build on what they have done.

5

Good idea, but not new at all.

I feel this plan needs to be far better refined and practical. The Roadmap/Milestones don’t cover practical points related to the codebase. There’s nothing here related to transformers/applications of open API frameworks (like OpenAI’s API calls).

Are you planning to build your own GPT? I’m assuming that’s why the O&M Cycle is so long?

One can build a functioning prototype, that covers social-related aspects, with around 100 hours of dev time, at a tenth of the budget, using OpenAI’s API Calls. and building it on GPT4.

1 Like
6

Thank you very much for your support of our ideas.

We are not in conflict with Angzaar Plaza AI at all, and we are not in a competitive relationship. We are both working to expand the ecosystem of Decentraland, but our development paths are different. Our grant application category is for content production around the world.

We are more focused on how to make these AI_NPCs attractive, enhance the brand image of Decentraland, and try to make them flow on different maps. For example, it’s like playing a cultivation game, where users can cultivate and train them, and the process is very interesting.

We have not revealed many interactive elements and activity details, but we have simply described our route goals. In the second stage, we have planned many social activities, including setting up a voting mechanism to allow users to rate and select our season stars. This is a sustainable long-term activity, and there are also many practical solutions in our plans, including even hosting an AI music concert. However, this activity will be in the third stage, so that our wild ideas can be realized.

7

I am one of the members of this proposal, and I thank you for your review. Are you confused about our long-term application and development expenses?

I understand your confusion about the technical cycle. The technical content mentioned in the roadmap is relatively limited because we want to show people how we will make AI_NPC active in Decentraland in stages. As you mentioned, our development cycle should be faster since our work has already begun. We are currently testing in stable mode in the first stage (including device design, venues, animation of AI characters, and AI content training). We will soon enter the second stage, but there are concerns about the progress of the second stage. Many people may not understand the significance of the second stage because there is a significant difference between one NPC on one land and multiple NPCs on multiple lands. Do you think you can imagine the charm of it? We are working on this, and it is very attractive. We hope to receive support from everyone.

According to the roadmap, we will start cooperation with those who want to have AI_NPC on their lands through an application link in the second stage. The six-month long cycle is also because the third stage is a long cycle, and it is also our focus. We have provided measuring indicators such as
the weekly user sessions ,and we have to make these AI_NPC three-dimensional and interesting. Many contents will be spawned in Decentraland, and we are trying to cooperate with external brands. This work is not small.

You can see that we have applied for at least 12 events or activities, for example, one of our event plans is to hold a concert around AI_NPC in the third stage, and the team spent at least a week preparing for musical copyright communication, venue construction, follow-up after the event, and media cooperation, including designing wearable devices. I hope my previous response can solve your confusion about the long cycle and application for expenses.

8

Yes, this will be very interesting!

9

I believe that introducing NPCs (non-player characters) with strong AI in Decentraland’s metaverse would bring many exciting advantages and benefits. Here are some of the main advantages from my perspective:

  1. More immersive experiences: NPCs with strong AI can enhance players’ immersion in the game world. Through complex conversations and interactions with NPCs, players can gain a deeper understanding of the game’s background story and rich character development, making it feel like they are living in the virtual world.
  2. Increased challenge and fun: Strong AI NPCs can provide new challenges for players through advanced strategies and behavior patterns. Interacting with these intelligent characters will require players to use more strategy and skill, making the game more exciting.
  3. Customized gaming experiences: NPCs with strong AI can adjust to players’ preferences and behaviors, providing more personalized gameplay experience. From customizing tasks to responding to player behaviors, intelligent NPCs make the game more suitable for different player needs.
  4. Enhanced social interactions within the metaverse community: Social interactions and building relationships with other players are important aspects of gameplay experience. Intelligent NPCs can facilitate player-to-player interactions through problem-solving, participating in activities or trading items, building deeper connections.
  5. Improved progressive task system: Strong AI NPCs can provide dynamically adjusted tasks based on players’ skill levels and preferences, encouraging continued growth and learning through new challenges.
  6. Increased feedback and rewards: NPCs with strong AI can provide specific rewards and feedback based on players’ performance and needs. For example, completing specific tasks given by an NPC may unlock special skills or obtain rare items, increasing player engagement and feedback.
  7. Long-term appeal of the game: Adding intelligent NPCs to the game can enhance long-term player appeal. As they learn from player behaviors and provide more interesting interactions, Decentraland’s metaverse will become more diverse and engaging, keeping players interested over the long term.

I believe that introducing NPCs with strong AI is an exciting innovation for the Decentraland metaverse that will bring many valuable advantages and benefits, making it an even more compelling and immersive experience.

10

agree with @Seanny here - despite the inflated budget though, i think i would still vote yes (cause i like the idea a lot) if this were to be open-sourced so that anyone can develop and host AI NPC’s but i don’t see anything about that.

11

@dax, the idea is great, and is not unique. Stanford & Google have made some fantastic advancements in this field as of late: [2304.03442] Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior

Please keep in mind, one can train a GPT-3.5-turbo-esque model with a $800 budget. Stanford’s Alpaca model for reference: Stanford CRFM

@Bulunini, im not confused, I’m asking for more information on your proposed LLM architecture (if you’re even using LLMs?)

What are you testing? What kind of model is this? Are you simply calling APIs from an external model? Are you training your own reflective model ontop of an already existing one? Are you pushing towards a lower-level model fine-tune instead? Or are you actually incorporating a multi-modal framework (still focusing on LLMs as the main context controller), which in truth, is the only solution that can justifty the said budget/achieve the cross-scene scope of the project?

Once again, outlining these key parts of your architecture is important, especially when all the examples I just brought up are already heavily opensourced and forkable for this usecase. Moreover, most of the issues you mentioned to be problematic would actually be quite simpler for the perspective of prudent architecture, such as this point:

You have to be far more thorough on your solutions to convince me that you are up to the challenge of building this brilliant idea into a tangible, usable component for the DCL community, which is why, at this stage, I will be voting no on this proposal.

12

Do you have open source example of what you have done so far?

In-World Content category requires you to open source everything you do as part of this grant

1 Like
13

Although I love the idea of Virtual Beings in Decentraland I’m voting No this time.

Given the complexity involved on creating virtual beings with background, capable of planning and interacting with the users I would like to see a detailed explanation of the technologies, algorithms, platforms and frameworks that you are using.

I would also like to see a working demo.

Your submission promises to deliver AI NPCs with an incredible broad set of capabilities. I would suggest you to narrow those capabilities.

If you are planning to use LLMs I’m also worried about the incredibly large costs of those services. How do you plan to keep it running after the grant money is spent?

Here is a recap of all the capabilities promised:

  • Human behavior (what aspects of human behavior are being simulated is not specified)
  • Dialogue (what kind of dialogue, and what elements of dialogue being simulated is not specified)
  • Personalized action plans (what kind of actions, and with which goal is not specified)
    – One of the goals cited is to “gain the player’s love”
  • Social connections between the NPCs
  • Background Story for each NPC
  • Distinctive personalities (they can like and dislike things and other NPCs)
  • NPCs can react to user behavior (which behavior is not specified)
  • This system should work also on social media (not just Decentraland)
  • NPCs can be deployed by any land owner
  • (optional) the players will be able to see and monitor the social connections of the NPCs

Despite many attempts nobody was able to create a product with all those characteristics. A product like that can only be found in the realm of science fiction.

1 Like
14

Create personalized AI NPCs to expand Decentland’s metaverse ecosystem

This proposal is now in status: REJECTED.

Voting Results:

  • Yes 27% 3,910,307 VP (101 votes)
  • No 72% 10,333,996 VP (103 votes)
  • Abstain 1% 746 VP (6 votes)